UPDATE 9:55 am: All three women have been sentenced to two years in prison, starting from the date of arrest in March. Shouts of "shame! shame!" could be heard in the courtroom.

The three long-detained members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been found guilty of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred," following a five-month case in Moscow that had become both controversial and inspiring around the world.

A number of people have been arrested outside of the courtroom, including chess champion-turned-political activist Garry Kasparov, according to the Guardian, who are live-blogging the verdict.
Reuters are streaming the case (which is, of course, in Russian) here. If you're in Britain, the BBC are sporadically returning to the case, which they're broadcasting with live English translation.

Pussy Riot were jailed in March on grounds of "hooliganism," after a February 21 flash-performance at Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral, wherein the group shouted an anti-Putin "punk prayer".
Amnesty International declared Pussy Riot "prisoners of conscience" and noted they faced the danger of being sent to labor camps where they would be at risk of physical and sexual abuse.

Russia for the last 8 years has benefited from America's war on terrorism, with high fluctuating oil prices and the stranglehold of gas supplies to Europe from central Asian states. Most of the economic growth was also from the maturation of many reforms passed under Yeltsin. Putin's strong stance against Chechnya and dismantling of oligarchy wins favour with the Russian public. Anything is possible for the people of Russia as long as they do not think of becoming involved politically against the Putin's KGB cadre.

However with the economy now entering recession people's lives will be affected, Putin froze the prices before elections earlier in the year, dissent would rise as the illusion of economic growth now fades and change is pushed for. The Kremlin will come down hard on anybody who will start to resist. This is the reality of State Managed Democracy in Russia.

More:
The Rise of Pro-Putin Youth
Putin Warns Countries Not To Interfere With Russian Affairs
Why Democracy: Russia's Village of Fools
ex-KGB spy speaking against Putin shortly before his death
Real News: Eric Margolis comments on Putin and Russia's Duma
Russians back Putin, Russian Elections deemed a 'farce'
Suppression of Opposition Groups in Russia
Putin's Message to the West
Death of a Nation: Russia in 2006 by Marcel Theroux
Kasparov on Maher--Being Very Clever
Panorama - The poisoning of Litvinenko
Russians mark Anna Politkovskaya's Murder

DEC 14 2008 MOSCOW— The Russian police detained dozens of antigovernment protesters attempting to hold an unsanctioned rally in Moscow on Sunday.

Police officers and armored riot control personnel prevented the planned protest in central Moscow from materializing, in the latest sign that public expression of dissent against the authorities would not be tolerated under President Dmitri A. Medvedev any more than it had been under his predecessor, Vladimir V. Putin.

As many as 100 people were detained, including Eduard Limonov, the head of the banned National Bolshevik Party, said a spokeswoman for Other Russia, a coalition of opposition groups led by Mr. Limonov and the former chess champion Garry Kasparov, among others. The police said that about 10 people were detained during a similar protest in St. Petersburg, Interfax reported.
The Moscow demonstration was meant as a protest of the Kremlin’s handling of the financial crisis and its plans to change the Constitution to extend presidential and parliamentary term limits. Government critics say such a move could be used to extend the authority of Mr. Putin, who is now prime minister, and possibly lead to his early return to the presidency.

Mr. Putin, while he has said Mr. Medvedev will remain president until his term ends in 2012, has not ruled out running for a third term after that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/world/europe/15russia.html?_r=1

That is Garry Kasparov, more about the incident here

Kasparov, considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time, accused Russia's rulers of creating a "feudal fiefdom" and lambasted mainstream opposition parties such as Yabloko and SPS, which did not attend the assembly.

As Kasparov spoke a toy penis with wings buzzed across the hall and around him. It was not clear who was behind the stunt.

Similar incidents mounted by Kremlin-backed youth groups were frequent during Kasparov's uphill campaign against the Kremlin in the run-up to parliamentary elections in December and Medvedev's controversial election in March.

You say that my analogies are too simplistic. Ironically, I feel the same about you guys thinking that democracy would fit in so well and just magically turn things around in Russia. Matter is not that simple.

(oh and about Saudi arabia having poverty etc. Well so does United States, UK, France, Germany and all those ghettos in Los Angeles and any other big cities. Every country still has a poverty class. And those who don't are socialist nations, who still have something similar like drug addicts. This is a dead argument.)

And again, Russians feel that they've already tried democracy a go and failed (you can argue that they did it wrong, but nonetheless that's how they feel right now). And Putin's way of doing things seems to work so far. So right now the thought of changing a government policy in middle of positive progression and economic recovery isn't too popular in Moscow as of this moment.

Ultimately it's not me that you should argue against, it's the popular voice of Russia. The ones clamoring democracy are not your regular Joes who suffered through depression of 90's, and likes the change of pace they have right now. But these overly educated people (usually super pro-western because they got rich and successful in the west *cough Garry Kasparov *cough) who has this fantasy view of the 'perfect world', and value philosophical BS over practicality.

Garry Kasparov formed the United Civil Front, which is a member of The Other Russia, a coalition opposing the elected government of Vladimir Putin.

United Russia, Putin's political party in conjunction with its youth division Nashi, is vehemently opposed to Kasparov, criticisms range from calling him mildly a capitalist foreign proxy to outlandish ones citing his movement as akin to fascism. In fact to join Nashi, youth candidates under go a screening process where they have to state why they hate the US and why Kasparov is dangerous. Nashi's most popular slogan is "No to Fascism!"

The facism claim tickles me, while Putin rides out the economical revival after several years of turmoil under Yeltsin, he is also cementing all goverment control under him. Electoral laws have been changed to centralize government power in Moscow, odd for a nation that stretches from the Finnish border to Siberia. But it's all due to the threat of terrorism you see. The upcoming December election is nothing but window dressing, analysts unanimously agree that Putin will hold power even if a new president is elected perhaps staying as a Prime Minister, until he can run again in 4 years for President again.

Many Russians don't seem to mind as they have equated democracy with chaos, and don't realize the various political, social and press freedoms they are losing. Russia is sliding slowly backwards into authoritarian state control.

I personally blame misguided nostalgia for Soviet prestige and power that the country enjoyed previously, that is slowly developing into nationalism centered under one ruler.

Check this related sift - Nashi : The Rise of Pro-Putin Youth.